Contagious Chemistry
by gleestud
Summary: No longer a one-shot, it has taken the AU turn. Protecting Caroline Forbes is all Tyler Lockwood can think about since he got back to Mystic Falls. Especially now that everyone knows the truth about the vampires and werewolves.
1. Nobody's Fault But Mine

_**Disclaimer:**__ The Vampire Diaries is the property of CW. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This story contains spoilers up till episode 2.16._

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He was gone. She made sure that he left. People could blame her if they wanted, but if they really thought about it, she had ever right to be mad at him. She had ever right to hate him. However, she couldn't hate him for longer than the few minutes it took to tell him never to talk to her again. The minute she shut the door, her heart broke into a million pieces. She wasn't supposed to fall for him, she wasn't supposed to find herself drawn to him the way she was. She was supposed to be good girl Caroline Forbes; still dating and fixing the relationship she had so happily forged with Matt Donovan. And if that wasn't enough, she wasn't supposed to fall for a _werewolf_. Therein lay the biggest problem. Damon and Stefan had given her so much grief before hell froze over and now that she thought about it, it did make sense listening to the Salvatore brothers on occasion. They knew what they were talking about when it came to the whole vampire/werewolf crap anyway. But this was Tyler; she couldn't just turn her back on him. Not when he believed that she was the only person who knew about his werewolf tendencies.

_**xxx**_

"Hey!" The fake cheeriness in her voice was probably only evident to her, but for Matt's sake, she needed to keep it together. She had chased Tyler Lockwood out of the place he called home and she had picked Matt Donovan. This was all wrong. It was typically cliché, falling for your boyfriend's best friend and then in order for nobody to find out how all of this felt to you, you stuck with the boyfriend and gave the best friend the old heave-ho. Just thinking about it made Caroline's head hurt. Smiling as Matt greeted her with a wink, Caroline forced herself to hold it together. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and held him against her. It felt good and right, but this wasn't what she wanted. It was so conflicting to be going through so many emotions and feelings all at once. "How are you?"

"You know the same. Happy to see you."

"You do realize that I can't hang with you till my shift is over, right?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, following Matt to the bar, her fingers moving nervously over the strap of her purse, "I'll just wait till you get off."

"Care, I'm working double shift tonight and possibly the graveyard shift."

"But…" sighing heavily, she dropped onto one of the stools at the bar and shrugged, "Okay, I'll just get something to eat and go see if Elena and Bonnie are up for some girl time."

"I think Elena is out with Stefan again, but Bonnie was in here a little while ago, so you should find her somewhere around."

Caroline nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to look around the Grill as she worked on maintaining her cool. This was so unlike her. Okay, no, this was totally like her. But ever since dying and then coming back to life, her attitude and personality and everything had changed. She was surer of herself and never faltering about anything. Yet, there she was, faltering. She looked up at Matt as she frowned at her, "What?"

"Everything okay with you?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be okay?"

"I don't know. Ever since Tyler walked out of town, you've been acting weird."

"What?" Clearly disguising the obvious wasn't easy, but Caroline wasn't trying to pretend to be shocked, she was shocked that Matt could read her that easily, "What do you mean?"

"One minute you and Tyler are joint at the hip, laughing and talking and holding hands, then you're angry with him and he's leaving town, telling me to be good to you."

"You saw him before he left?"

"Yeah, he swung by her and spoke to me about you."

"W-what did he say?"

"That when things were bad for him, you were always there for him. And that," Matt paused and took a deep breath, shaking his head, "That he fell for you. But he had to go because he knows that you love me and something else."

"Oh God," it came out as a whisper and Caroline closed her eyes as she grabbed the bar top for support. If her heart was aching before, these words just killed her. She hadn't even said goodbye and now he was gone and all she wanted to do was see him. If she saw him, things would be perfectly fine. She just needed to see that smile, watch his eyes light up when he saw her, the way his fingers twitched when they were together because he wanted to touch her, but he was too scared to do anything to push her away, the way he cocked his head when she got embarrassed because of something he said. _Oh God, what have I done?_

"Caroline?" Opening her eyes as Matt shook her gently, Caroline blinked a few times and nodded, "Sorry, I just… I need to go."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just feeling a little tired." Carefully pushing herself to her feet, Caroline gave Matt a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll call you later, okay?"

"We still up for a late night junk food run?"

"I'll let you know," Caroline smiled weakly as she bolted for the door, stepping out into the sun as her racing heart finally slowed down. She needed to find Tyler and she needed to find him now.

_**xxx**_

He wasn't sure how long they had been on the road, but he had been drifting in an out of sleep the whole time. Every time he offered to drive, Jules would shake her head and tell him she was fine. He knew that she was worried about him driving them back to Mystic Falls. A part of him wanted to go back home, the other part of him wanted to be gone forever. The further away from Mystic Falls he was, the better Caroline's life would be. And he wasn't going to be responsible for her having a terrible life. He had screwed it up enough already; he didn't need to help her anymore. He could hear Jules on the phone, but he kept his eyes shut just so that he could listen to the conversation and know exactly what he was walking into. Something about returning to Mystic Falls with a bigger army and a chance to really destroy the vampires and find the moonstone. Tyler groaned as he realized that while running away was the start of it all, they were going to return to Mystic Falls and whether he liked it or not, he had to go with the _wolfpack_ and make sure that he helped in every which way possible.

His phone had buzzed in his pocket a few times while he was pretending to sleep and now that Jules was finally agreeing to stop so he could take a leak, Tyler checked his messages. Halfway through the trees, he stopped moving and stared at his phone. _14 missed calls from Caroline Forbes_. After their last conversation, finding her name taking up most of the space on his phone scared Tyler. Either something really bad had happened, or something bad was about to happen and he wasn't there to protect her. Sure, she had the Salvatore brothers and their attitude issues working with her and Matt could do as much as a regular human could do to protect her. But that wouldn't be enough to make sure that Caroline Forbes was safe. He needed to be there. Looking over at Jules as she paced around the car, Tyler dialed Caroline's number and stepped away from the position he was in and walked a few feet away. Her phone rang four times before her breathy voice came over the phone, "Tyler?"

"Are you okay?"

"Why?"

"You called me 14 times, Caroline."

"Right, of course, why didn't you call back before?"

"Because I've been sleeping and traveling. What's wrong?" There was silence on the other end and Tyler closed his eyes, waiting for Caroline to say something else to hurt his feelings. But she just sighed heavily and cleared her throat, "Matt told me what you said to him."

"What?" _I am going to kill him when I see him next._

"I'm sorry, Tyler."

"For what?"

"For… _everything_?"

"Great, that makes me feel so much better."

"You have no right to get sarcastic with me, Lockwood, you let your wolf friends take me hostage and poke and prod me for hours before you pulled a superwolf stunt and saved me."

"First of all, the only reason I took so long was because I was with Stefan."

"Why were you with Stefan?"

"Because I'm guessing you told him and Damon that I know they killed Mason. So to stop me from going after Damon to avenge my uncle's death, he came to me."

"What?"

"I should have known that you'd tell them I knew what had happened."

"I had to warn them."

"Yeah, but you couldn't even be honest with me about things."

"Because it wasn't easy for me to talk about."

"Whatever, Caroline. Why are you calling me?"

"Come back." Tyler growled softly and shook his head, "No."

"I know I said some pretty mean things to you before you left, but you're the only person in this whole town who doesn't judge me for being what I am."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"I can't tell Matt that I'm a vampire and Elena and Bonnie won't talk about their boy problems because they think I'll lose the plot because I can't talk about y… because I can't talk about my boy problems."

"As far as I know, you don't have any boy problems."

"That's where you're wrong."

"You picked the right person, Caroline. Don't screw this up by hanging onto what we once were."

"We could have been more and you know it."

"You made sure that didn't happen when I kissed you."

"This is after I kissed you back."

"You still freaked out and ran away."

"What do you want me to say, Tyler?"

"Nothing. That's the thing. I don't want you to say anything. You made it very clear as to what we are and what we can be and I'm respecting your decision and I'm staying away."

"But I _need_ you to come home."

"Caroline…"

"Tyler, please."

"I can't. I have to go." Tyler hung up and put his phone off before shoving it back into his pocket.

Leaning against the tree closest to him, he closed his eyes and gently punched the trunk of the tree. Focusing so much on his anger, Tyler couldn't feel the pain shooting up his arm till Jules grabbed his arm and pulled him off the tree, "What is going on with you?"

"I need to go back to Mystic Falls."

"No, you _can't_."

"I can't go back with you, because you're the one that everyone fears. I can go back on my own."

"And then what? What if that witch finds you and tries to kill you? I can't lose another person from the pack."

"Technically, I'm not part of the pack. I never was and the only reason I came with you was because you looked like shit."

"Tyler, you know it's not safe."

"It's _home_, it's as safe as it can be. The rest, I will handle."

"You can't just waltz back into town and expect everyone to welcome you with open arms."

"If I do this alone and in the dark, I can do anything."

"It's that pretty blonde vampire, isn't it? Caroline? The one who killed Mason?"

"For the record, she didn't kill Mason. That was Damon. And no, this has nothing to do with Caroline. This has everything to do with me. And I'm going back."

"How exactly are you planning on doing that?"

"You think you're the only person who knows how to live wild? I'll hitch a ride, you can keep the fancy truck and all the crap in the back."

"Tyler, please think about this."

"I have, because one thing I'm sure about is that I'm not going with you to form some kind of mutant wolf army to take down the vampires. Mystic Falls is my home and I will not let you destroy everything about the town just because the vampires and the werewolves don't get along."

"You realize going back means you're choosing to be one of them."

"Fine, you can kill me when you kill the vampires and witches. I don't care. But I didn't want this in the first place and I definitely don't want it anymore. So, goodbye Jules."

_**xxx**_

Caroline had stayed in bed after the conversation with Tyler and while she had attempted to get up and make movements a few times, she had given up altogether when it came to calling Matt about their date, or calling the girls for an ice cream and movie night in. she was miserable. If she didn't know how Tyler felt about her – well, beyond that incredible kiss a few weeks ago – she would have been fine. A kiss was a kiss and nothing more. But actual words with feelings attached to them was something else altogether. Staring at the ceiling, Caroline drew random shapes on her duvet and wondered what would have happened if she had just invited Tyler into the house after that kiss. Maybe they'd have dealt with everything that followed differently. _Or maybe not_. Quickly sitting up in bed, Caroline looked around the room and got out of bed. Breathing heavily, she climbed down the stairs, walking on her toes so that she wouldn't make up her mother. Walking towards the front door, Caroline bit her bottom lip gently and pulled it open. Sighing heavily as darkness greeted her, Caroline shook her head, "You need to calm down, Caroline."

"And maybe put on another layer of clothes before opening the door." Caroline jumped as she struggled to keep the door open and focused on the space where the voice floated in from, "Tyler…"

"What if it had been some whack job looking for a good time, you'd be prime victim in that t-shirt."

"Of course, the whack job would not be aware of my extra powers."

"Of course." Inhaling sharply as Tyler stepped out of the shadows, Caroline felt her eyes fill up. Chewing on her bottom lip, she pushed the door open even more and smiled at him, "You came home."

"Yeah, I missed my Mom."

"I missed you too." She watched Tyler eye her cautiously before stepping onto the front step. Taking a small step forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pushed herself onto her toes and hugged him. Burying her face in his neck, Caroline inhaled the scent of Tyler she had become so familiar with. Closing her eyes as she felt his arms go around her waist, Caroline pressed herself against him and held him close. This felt better than holding Matt and while she hated comparing the two of them, she couldn't stop herself. This was what she was thinking about the minute Tyler had walked into that trailer to get her out of that cage. Now that she had him back in her arms, she was too scared to let go. What if she let him go and he really never did come back. "I should go see my Mom."

"It's two in the morning, Tyler."

"I can't stay here, Caroline."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think I could behave myself." She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him through her lashes, her hands running down his arms as she lowered her voice to a whisper, "What if I don't want you to behave yourself?"

"Caroline…"

"I want this, Tyler."

"I want this too, but you know this isn't right."

"Will you just shut up and kiss me, already?"

_**xxx**_

There was a lot of bumping into things, a vase crashed, a lamp broke and at one point, he thought they would put a whole through the wall as well. The minute their lips locked, things had moved so fast that Tyler had to hold onto Caroline tight for fear of missing everything. They made it up to her bedroom in one piece, their bodies glued together and their lips locked. Somewhere along the way he had managed to get her t-shirt off, dropping it on the floor somewhere outside her bedroom. Kissing her was intoxicating and when he finally broke away to look down at her, he was amazed that they had made it to the bed in one piece. And had even locked the bedroom door so that Sheriff Forbes wouldn't walk in on them. Smiling as she arched her back slightly, Tyler moved one hand down her naked side as she pushed her legs apart, pressing her knees into his hips. His eyes searched her naked body for something that would possibly make him stop from going through with this, but the speed at which her fingers were moving over his belt told him that stopping would be the stupidest thing he could ever do. Pulling his t-shirt off, Tyler crashed his lips down on hers as she worked the button on his jeans off. Kicking his jeans off with his feet, Tyler shifted above her and deepened the kiss as she hooked a leg around his waist. A soft growl vibrated against his lips as she used the heel of her foot to push his boxers off. Her fingers made their way into his hair and Tyler responded with a soft moan as she squirmed under him a little before wrapping her other leg around his waist. Whimpering against her lips as she slipped a hand between them, Tyler moved his lips from hers to her jaw, gently sucking on her skin. Growling louder as she wrapped her hand around his length, Tyler nibbled on her skin, enjoying the way her hand moved along him in slow strokes. He shuddered against her a little as she rubbed her thumb over his tip, pressing his chest against hers as he used one hand to gently pull her hand away.

Pushing into her slowly, Tyler covered her mouth his to lessen the sound of her moans and gripped at the sheets as he sucked on her bottom lip. Filling her completely, he broke the kiss, his eyes fluttering shut as he built up a steady rhythm. Her fingers moved from his hair to trail down his back, her nails dragging along his skin. Growling as their noses brushed, Tyler pressed himself down on her harder as he slid deeper into her. Whimpering softly as she arched her back and pushed his heel into his butt, Tyler growled and buried his face in her neck. Moving one hand to her hip, Tyler let his fingers sink into her skin as he pushed harder and faster into her, his breathing getting ragged against her neck. Growling loudly as he felt her fangs sink into his shoulder, Tyler slammed his hips against hers, causing her to release his shoulder and moan his name. Shifting a little, Tyler pushed harder into her as she dug her nails into his back, her tongue flicking out at the bite mark on his shoulder. Feeling her throb around him as he hit her spot, Tyler used both hands to lift her hips to meet his as he pounded faster into her, hitting her spot with every thrust. Feeling her shudder under him, Tyler moved his lips to hers again as she tightened around him. Smiling to himself as she whimpered his name, Tyler thrust harder into her again, riding the climax with her before collapsing onto her gently as he struggled to catch his breath.

_**xxx**_

This wasn't right, but it was perfect. And in that moment, that's all that mattered to Caroline. She was perfectly content with the way things had progressed since she had called him in a frantic mess. Running her fingers through his hair, the pads of her fingers massaging his scalp, Caroline loved how they were right then. He was still buried deep inside her and her legs were wrapped comfortable around his waist, keeping him there. His head was on her chest, breathing in sync with her as she carefully stroked the bite mark on his shoulder with one hand and played with his hair with the other hand. Smiling to herself, Caroline closed her eyes and sunk back into the pillow. "Care?"

"Mhm?"

"I missed you, by the way."

"I know. I'm glad you came back."

"Me too."

"And what I said before, about us never being friends again? I didn't mean it."

"I deserved it, anyway."

"But I want you in my life for as long as I can have you there."

"Consider it done. Good news is, I'm not going anywhere just yet."

"Good, because I'm quite enjoying this feeling. It's…." Caroline opened her eyes to look down at him, "It's refreshing."

"That's not the word I was looking for, but we'll go with it." Sighing happily as Tyler shifted a little, Caroline trailed her fingers along his jaw as he lifted his head and looked up at her. Smiling as he kissed her chest gently, Caroline tilted her head to the side and nodded, "Promise me that if you decide to leave again, you'll come talk to me before taking off?"

"I promise."


	2. Good Times, Bad Times

_**Disclaimer:**__ The Vampire Diaries is the property of CW. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is no longer a one-shot and has officially taken an AU turn. Things will coincide with what is happening on the show, but it's going to be totally warped in so many ways.  
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It was dangerous, hanging around the Forbes household like that, but Tyler didn't have anywhere else to go. His mother didn't know he was back in town and other than Caroline, nobody even really cared anyway. Besides, being in the Forbes house meant that he could just be with Caroline. And they spent every waking moment together. While Sheriff Forbes was out of the house, they moved around the rooms, using every flat surface to have a little fun. The kitchen got used the most, between their meals and when her bedroom and bathroom started reeking of sex. It was everywhere and it wasn't like they could stop. He couldn't keep his hands off of her, and Tyler knew he was going to have a seriously tough time with doing that if she kept making the noises she was making. Till that moment, Tyler didn't realize just how much he wanted Caroline. And it wasn't just about the sex – which was mind-blowing – but just having her there with him. That physical comfort, the emotional strain being lifted and the feeling of having someone care about you enough to let you back into their lives. Best part of this was that other than that initial conversation, the two of them hadn't said anything about what Caroline had said to Tyler, or what Tyler had told Matt. They had been so wrapped up in each other that they couldn't find the time to talk in full sentences. He kept starting a conversation, which Caroline would silence with her hand around his dick or her tongue over his. It was impossible to talk to her when she kept wanting him to fuck her hard against a wall or in the shower or flip her over in bed. Tyler had a lot to say and he knew that Caroline had a lot to say as well, but he wasn't going to get anything out of her. Not when all she could think about was sex.

He had the house to himself all day and while he had to be careful not to get caught by Sheriff Forbes when she came home, Tyler went around picking up broken pots and vases and cleaning up the mess they had left. There was something going on in Mystic Falls, which explained why the Sheriff had been out of the house most of the weekend and most of the week. He always knew when she was home because he could smell her from a mile away and he could sense her pause outside Caroline's room before she went to bed. Caroline never even knew because she was so busy grinding up or down onto him. He was pretty sure that he had never met a girl who wanted sex as much or as desperately as Caroline. He loved being inside her, but this was getting ridiculous. He came back for her, and to see what the hell was happening in Mystic Falls. Even being away he knew there was something wrong, but the blond vampire he was banging had nothing of importance to tell him. Except an almost slip of the tongue about how much she _loved_ him. Tyler loaded up the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen so it didn't look like he had just gone six rounds of wild sex with Caroline on every flat surface including the stove. He went back to her room, stripped the sheets and opened the windows. If he was going to be hiding out at her house, the least he could ask for was a place that didn't smell like sex all the time.

"Tyler!" He stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist as she walked into the room, pulling off her jacket and tank top, "You're already ten steps ahead of me."

"Keep it on, Care."

"But, why?" Caroline pouted as she kicked off her jeans and walked over to him in just her panties and bra. He was usually unable to fight her off when she was wearing nothing much, but right then, he wasn't going to fall for it. "We need to talk."

"Uh oh, that is never good."

"Here," he handed her his earlier discarded shirt and nodded, "Wear this, so we can talk. And after, we'll discuss our activities."

"Tyler…"

"Caroline, please. Just put it on." He grabbed his boxers and slipped them on as he led the way to the bed and sat down. She dropped onto the bed beside him, the first three buttons of her shirt undone as she pushed her fingers through her hair. Tyler licked his lips, resisting the urge to just fuck her and then talk. He knew if they started, it would be close to impossible to get her to stop.

"Are you going to keep staring at my boobs, or are you going to talk?"

"What's happening in Mystic Falls?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what is happening in town that your mother has to be out of the house for nights in a row and everyone is walking around on eggshells."

"How would you know that, you haven't even left the house since you got here?"

"About that, I need to get out. I can't' be your prisoner forever."

"What are you going to say when you see your Mom or Matt, Ty?"

"It doesn't matter, I have to get out."

"Fine, you can go whenever you want."

"Thanks," Tyler sighed heavily and looked at her, "Now, what's happening?"

"You think the wolves coming to Mystic Falls were bad, you should see the stress we're all under right now. One of the originals is coming for Elena."

"I thought he was already here, Elijah or whatever?"

"There's another one, a more powerful one," she chewed on her bottom lip and played with the hem of the shirt, "Klaus, he's out to get Elena because she's the doppelganger and she is the only way to break the curse."

"So the Salvatore brothers are up in arms to protect her because they both want her."

"How do you even know all of this?"

"Have you not seen the way Damon looks at her? He doesn't want to eat her, but he wants to _eat_ her."

"Ugh, Tyler, that's gross."

"You don't seem to mind it."

"Yes, when it's me that's being eaten out, but my best friend, that's kinda…," Tyler chuckled as Caroline shook her head, letting her hair fall into her eyes before she looked up at him, "You're evil, distracting me with talk of sex."

"I wanna see how long you can hold off before you jump me again."

"Given that you cleaned the house and it smells livable, maybe a lot longer than you think."

"Good," sighing heavily, Tyler ran a hand over his head, "What else?"

"Everyone is on edge because of this Klaus guy, Bonnie has mastered her witchiness and Jeremy has joined the ranks of crime fighting people."

"Is there anyone in this town that's not part of this fight?"

"Matt," Caroline looked away from him as she twisted her hands in her lap, sighing heavily. Tyler reached for her hand, to stop her from turning them redder than they already were, "Caroline."

"He has to stay out of this, Tyler."

'Given that he doesn't know anything, we can keep him out of this for sure." Caroline nodded and scooted closer to him, Tyler wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her against him as he listened to the sound of her breathing, "I'm scared, Tyler."

"You're a vampire, babe, why are you scared?"

"That is exactly why I'm scared. If an original is coming for Elena to break the curse, that means you'll be gone and I'll have to do all of this alone."

"So, we'll stop him. Not just for me, but so we don't lose Elena."

"Ever since you came back, I haven't thought about anybody else but you."

"That's not like you."

"It's totally like me," she tilted her head back and kissed his jaw, "Having you here with me is really nice, I'm not ready to let this go."

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I'll do my best," Tyler chuckled and looked down at her, "I don't really wanna disappoint you if I break the promise."

"I can live with that," she poked him in the chest and grinned, "I like it when you call me _babe_."

"Don't get all girly girl on me now, Forbes."

"Shut up," rolling her eyes, Caroline shifted on the bed and carefully swung one leg over his lap and straddled him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I need to tell you something."

"I feel like my reaction should be _uh oh_ as well," Tyler smiled a little as he wrapped one arm around her waist, letting his hand rest on her lower back as he watched her.

"I love you."

"Caroline…"

"I know it's really fast and we haven't really done any talking about us and what this is and stuff, but I know how I feel about you and I know that you like me too. Maybe not the way I feel for you, but it's there. Or you wouldn't have told Matt all the things you did. And I know that commitment scares you, because it scares me too, but not as much as it scares you, but I really think you should know how I feel about you because despite leaving me in a trailer with a bunch of wolves, you've been amazing. I mean, you did come and save me aft-" Tyler silenced her rambling with a deep kiss, causing Caroline's eyes to widen as she melted against him. Tyler sighed happily into the kiss as she rested a hand on the back of his neck, slowly massaging it as she deepened the kiss. Pulling away slowly, Tyler brushed his lips over hers and smiled as he opened his eyes, "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I do have my moments."

"I love everything about you, Caroline, but with everything that is happening, getting attached might not be the smartest thing to do."

"I know, but I was attached way before you kissed me or before I let you take me places I'm pretty sure I've never been before."

"You know how I feel about you, I don't have to say it and maybe I am a commitment phobe, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm scared if I let myself go, everything will fall apart."

"Tyler, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"When all of this over, I promise you, I'll do more than just say those words back."

"First ever vampire/werewolf wedding?"

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here?"

"Just saying, _babe_."

"It sounds nice when you say it too," Caroline giggled and pressed her lips against his again, "So, _babe_, do I actually have to ask you to make love to me or are you going to do it?"

Tyler opened his mouth to respond and frowned as he looked in the direction of her open door, "Your mom is home."

"What?"

"Ssh!" Tyler picked Caroline up as he moved to his feet and gently set her down, "Change back into your clothes."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Caroline," Tyler all but growled her name as she ripped off his shirt and pulled on her own clothes, "I'm going to expect you to make this up to me."

"I'll do one better. I'm sneaking out through the bathroom window."

"Call me." Tyler pulled on his t-shirt and gave her a quick kiss, smiling as he hurried into the bathroom and slid out through the window, landing on his feet as he heard Caroline greet her mother with a bright laugh.

_**xxx**_

When she got down to the kitchen, Caroline found Matt waiting for her, a grin lighting up his face. She looked from her mother to Matt and back before wrapping her arms around his neck. If only he knew that a few minutes ago she'd almost gone two for two with Tyler in her bed, Matt might have rethought things with her right then and there. But the way he was holding her against him said enough. She hoped to God that he couldn't smell Tyler on her, because that would be just as bad. Sighing happily, she pulled back and rested her hands on his face as he smiled at her. Letting him press her against him, Caroline glanced out the window as Tyler's face appeared for a brief second. She felt her stomach clench before turning to look at her mother who was pulling off all her gear, laying them down on the table. She knew that one of those two guns had stake bullets and if anybody got their hands on that, she was going to be in trouble. She also knew that her mother walked around with silver bullets, which scared her even more. There was no way she was going to be okay with Tyler getting killed on her behalf. Licking her lips as she forced herself to calm down, Caroline turned her attention back to Matt and smiled, "So, what brings you here?"

"I haven't seen my girlfriend in a few days, so I was just checking up."

"Aw, Matt, you see me at school every day."

"It's different, we used to hang out at the Grill before my shift, now I barely even see you there."

"I'm sorry," Caroline chewed on her bottom lip as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb, "I've been tired every day after class, I just come home and veg out."

"Everything okay with you?"

"Yeah," nodding, she pulled away from him and went to turn on the coffee machine before looking back at Matt and her mother, "Haven't been sleeping at night much."

"Why not, honey?"

"You're never here, so I just have these minor panic attacks about what if someone breaks in."

"It's the Sheriff's house, they know what they'll have to deal with if they break in here."

"I know," Caroline chuckled softly as she made herself busy by grabbing things from the cabinet so she wouldn't have to look at either of them, "But I'm still just a little worried."

"I can stay here tonight, if you want me to," Caroline inhaled sharply before turning to look at Matt, hoping that the color draining from her face wasn't completely obvious, "I'll be fine, Matt, thanks. Elena and Bonnie said they might come over for a girl's night."

"Well, that's good then."

"Yup, just us girls, some ice cream and some really crappy romantic comedies," Caroline rolled her eyes dramatically for effect and turned back to focus on the machine. She could hear Tyler carefully moving around outside and she hoped on everything she believed in that he would just stay still so that he wouldn't get caught. Squealing softly as Matt came up behind her, resting his hands on the counter beside her, Caroline chewed on her bottom lip and smiled a little, "You sure you're okay?"

"I promise, I'm okay." She turned around and rested a hand on his chest, smiling as he leaned in to kiss her, "Thank you though."

"Anything for you, Care." She kissed him again, instantly smelling Tyler on herself and pulled back, trying to keep her calm as she turned back to turn off the coffee machine, hoping the smell of the caffeine would just cover her instantly.

"Caroline! Caroline!"

"Yeah, what? What?"

"Your… umm.. phone is ringing upstairs," Matt frowned as he stepped towards her, "Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor, Care?"

"I'm fine," she nodded, taking a deep breath as her phone stopped ringing. Just as she was about to turn back to the coffee machine, it started ringing again. Sighing heavily, she left everything on the counter and smiled at her mother and Matt before running upstairs. Without looking at the caller ID, she picked up, "Hello?"

"You seem to be enjoying this fake girlfriend thing."

"Where are you?"

"Watching your Mom and your boyfriend now that you're upstairs."

"Tyler, this is not a good idea."

"You and me?"

"No, you sneaking around outside."

"Fuck that, I need you to stay upstairs. Make enough noise to seem like you're talking to Elena or Bonnie or something."

"Tyler…"

"Babe, please, just listen to me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Listen to this very interesting conversation between the two people in your kitchen."

"What are you talking about?"

"How well do they know each other?"

"I don't know. Matt's always been polite around Mom and she likes him because he's _normal_."

"Mhm," Caroline heard Tyler sigh into the phone, "Bet she'd be thrilled to know that her daughter has been sleeping with a dog."

"Tyler, now is not the time for you to be jealous."

"Oh, jealous was what I was feeling watching you stick your tongue down Matt's throat."

"It was a peck!"

"Whatever, point is, you're enjoying it."

"Ugh," Caroline got up and kicked off her boots before collapsing onto the bed, "I want you to come back upstairs so I can show you who I really enjoying kissing."

"That is going to have to wait."

"Since when did you become a tease?"

"Since it became clear that your need for me was way more than I've ever experienced before."

"Does it scare you?"

"Your sexual appetite? Hell yes."

"But you like it."

"No, _babe_," Caroline shuddered involuntarily as he dropped his voice a notch and growled, "I _love_ it."

"Hurry up and do whatever it is you need to know, I miss you already."

"An hour, tops."

"Thirty minutes, make it snappy," Caroline hung up and sighed happily as she sank back into the bed, running her tongue over her bottom lip as she stared at her ceiling. She was sure she could keep doing this charade long enough to be with Tyler till things got completely out of hand. But there was something strange about the way things had been going on down in the kitchen. And Tyler was right, Matt and her mother seemed to already have some kind of a bond and she never remembered that being the case before.

_**xxx**_

Sliding his phone into his back pocket, Tyler moved closer to the window and sank under it as he heard the Sheriff's voice get closer. Closing his eyes as he held his breath, Tyler heard her open the window above him and silently thanked whatever God had made the Sheriff do that and waited till she was gone before shifting into a more comfortable position. Taking a deep breath, he looked around him at the flower bed and the destruction he had caused it by crawling all over it. _Fuck that_.

"Remember everything I told you, Matt?"

"How are you so sure?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. I knew that the only way I was going to be able to remember everything was if I had vervain with me. It's the only thing that protects us from the _vampires_."

"So you're saying that if I drink the vervain, she can't force me to do anything I don't want to do?"

"Compel you, yes. I need you to get as much information out of her as possible and then let her clean your mind."

"But I'd have drunk vervain right before?"

"Yes, I stole some while I was hidden in the Salvatore's basement, so there should be enough."

"How are you still managing to live under the same roof?"

"Why do you think I'm never home? I can't be around her and not want to reach for my stake."

"What happens once I find out everything?"

"At least we'll know where to go and who to avoid."

"We're not leaving Mystic Falls, right?"

"No, they are, Matt. And I need your help to make this town the way it used to be."

"I'm scared, Sheriff."

"I am too, Matt, but if we work together, we can get rid of this problem once and for all. I just want my daughter back."

"Didn't you say that vampires have to die to come back to life and become vampires? How are you going to get Caroline back?"

"Matt," Sheriff Forbes looked at him pleadingly and shook her head, "She might be a vampire forever, but without the others, she won't be as much of a threat as she is now."

"Sheriff, she's hardly a threat right now."

"When she's alone with you and me, yes." Tyler shook his head and closed his eyes as he waited for everything to calm down around him. Opening his eyes as he heard Matt's voice, all Tyler wanted to do was rip his ex-best friend to shreds. He was using the one person that apparently meant the world to him to make things right again. Tyler wasn't going to stand by and watch this. "Matt, one more thing."

"Please don't tell me I have to kill her."

"No! Nobody is killing her," Tyler felt his heart race as he heard Sheriff Forbes move from her position by the counter near the window, "There are werewolves also."

"What?"

"They're not as dangerous as vampires, because they can only turn on the full moon, but they exist."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Why do you think Tyler Lockwood ran away?"

"Are you being serious right now? Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf?"

"Just be careful."

"He's not here, Sheriff, what are we being careful about?"

"You told me how he feels about Caroline, maybe he will come back to check on her. You need to be alert at all times."

"Okay," Tyler pushed away from the wall and took a deep breath as he crawled away from the kitchen window. He had heard enough. Now all he needed to do was settle this once and for all. He was going to do his best not to hurt Matt or the Sheriff, but if they provoked him while he made polite conversation with them, he wasn't going to control himself. Fuck the full moon, he was strong even otherwise. Just as he turned the corner to the front of the house, he heard Caroline's cheerful giggle break the tension in the house, "I'm going for a bath, Mom, and Matt would you be able to drop me off at Bonnie's after?" Tyler snuck a glance at her through the front door and shook his head at how oblivious she was about everything. If only she knew just how much her mother and _boyfriend_ knew, this would start to make sense to her. And it was _his_ job to protect her. And fuck, he was going to protect her. He was going to do what Matt couldn't do.

_**xxx**_

**Tyler (20:21)** Where are you?

**Caroline (20:24)** With Bonnie and Elena.

**Tyler (20:25)** You were serious about making plans with them? I thought it was a distraction.

**Caroline (20:27)** I couldn't really wiggle out of it after making comments like that.

**Tyler (20:30)** As long as you're safe, I really have no issues where you are. Don't leave there till I come for you.

**Caroline (20:32)** Tyler, what are you going to do?

**Tyler (20:34)** Have a small chat with Matt.

**Caroline (20:35)** About what?

**Tyler (20:37)** Your 'boyfriend' knows more than he's letting on.

**Caroline (20:38)** That makes no sense.

**Tyler (20:40)** I'll explain when I see you. Do not leave that house till I come for you.

**Caroline (20:42)** Do not hurt him.

**Tyler (20:43)** Only if he provokes me, which he might given how much he really knows.

**Caroline (20:45)** This does not sound like something I should be encouraging.

**Tyler (20:46)** Good thing you're not. Now go have a normal girl's night in and I'll call you later.

**Caroline (20:48)** Be safe, Tyler. I love you.

**Tyler (20:50)** I will, blondie. ;)

Pocketing his phone, Tyler stepped out from behind the truck at Matt's house and crossed the road, shoving his hands into his pockets after ringing the doorbell. He honestly had no clue what he was going to say or do, he just knew that he had to come talk to Matt. He figured that once he saw Matt's face, he'd think of something. Rocking back on his heels, Tyler looked around the neighborhood as he waited for his ex-best friend to answer the door. "Tyler?"

"Donovan," Tyler faked a smile as he wiggled his eyebrows almost as a taunting technique, "How you been?"

"I should be asking you that," Matt stuck his head out and looked around before looking back at Tyler, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm back in town, so I just swung by to say _hey_."

"I've known you my entire life, you never stop by to just say _hey_."

"True," Tyler took a step forward and paused, "May I come in?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Tyler rolled his eyes and brushed past Matt into the house before turning to look at him, "I don't need to be invited in like the vampires, I can go wherever I want to go as long as there isn't some weird as spell over it."

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, please, don't play this game with me," Tyler walked to the kitchen and grabbed himself a bottle of beer from the fridge, "You've always been good at playing innocent bystander, but this one time you know exactly what's going on."

"I'm just a tad bit confused."

"Let me help," Tyler took a long pull on the beer and walked around the kitchen island and waved his hands about, "You and Sheriff Forbes are this epic crime fighting duo, trying to rid this town of vampires and werewolves because they've been plaguing poor Mystic Falls for years and it's getting impossible to keep track of what's happening because people keep dying and whatever blah blah blah."

"Did you show up here drunk, Ty?"

"Kinda wish I had, it would make it easier for me to punch that ridiculous innocent look off your face."

"You should go."

"No," Tyler emptied the beer and tossed the bottle in the bin before point at Matt, "You should leave Caroline alone."

"I knew it would come to this," Matt crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged, "You walked away, she picked me. It's not that difficult to understand."

"See, that's where you're wrong. She might have picked you to parade around in public, but the reason you never see her anymore is because she's been with me every night since I got back."

"You need to go."

"What are you getting from the Sheriff, Matt, for helping her get rid of the vampires and werewolves in Mystic Falls?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"If this is justice or revenge for what they did to Vicki, you're going to get yourself killed."

"You don't know anything about what happened to Vicki."

"And you do, because Sheriff Forbes told you everything right?"

"I don't need you talking to me like I'm a child, Tyler."

"No, but I do need to talk to you like someone who is making a huge mistake."

"I'm not doing anything."

"How long are you going to pretend like you don't know that your _girlfriend_ is a vampire and that the Salvatore brothers are as well and that I'm a werewolf?" Tyler tilted his head to the side as Matt's eyes widened and then smiled as he shrugged, "Didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"Why did you come back?"

"Because Caroline called me."

"Why?"

"Apparently hell is freezing over right here in Mystic Falls and she wanted me to help her."

"What exactly are you going to do to help her?"

"Stop you from trying to hurt her."

"I'm not going to hurt her, Tyler, I've loved her way longer than you have."

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that you and Sheriff Forbes are on this mission to get rid of all the vampires in this town."

"Caroline doesn't get hurt."

"Do you even realize what you're saying? If you kill one vampire, the others follow suit. It's just the way things are."

"That's ridiculous, Sheriff Forbes wouldn't let anything happen to Caroline."

"She loves her, yes, but her daughter is still a vampire. And that means that she's already dead, she's never going to be her little girl again."

"Just leave," Matt rubbed his face and walked away from Tyler, leaning against the counter as he shook his head, "How are you, a werewolf, going to protect her?"

"By telling you that working with the Sheriff to get rid of the vampires is the stupidest thing you will ever do in your entire life."

"What do you want me to do, Tyler?"

"Back off," Tyler crossed his arms over his chest as Matt turned to face him, "Stop trying to make this town _normal_ again. Mystic Falls hasn't been normal for years, it's not going to start now."

"You have no right to come in here and tell me what to do."

"I'm looking out for Caroline, so yeah, I kinda do."

"She picked me, Tyler, I suggest you pack up your crap and leave," Matt took a step towards Tyler, narrowing his eyes at him, "And this time, don't come back."

"You're gonna have to force me out of town, this is my home just as much as it is yours."

"Not anymore, you're going to leave, or I'm going to make sure that someone helps you on your way."

"You packing, Matt?"

"With silver bullets, yes."

"Take your best shot."

Tyler ducked as Matt swung at him and charged at Matt, pushing his shoulder into Matt's stomach sending them both to the floor. Matt grabbed Tyler's hair and pulled his head back, causing a loud growl to escape Tyler's lips as he used one hand to pin Matt to the floor, punching him with his other hand. This was not what he wanted to do, but Tyler knew that if he didn't fight Matt, he would be the one with the silver bullets in his chest and lying locked up somewhere. Matt used his free hand to punch Tyler in the stomach, a hard blow that knocked the wind out of him. Tyler moved his hand around Matt's throat as he punched him again. He missed Matt's hand moving for the gun tucked behind him and if he hadn't focused a little harder, Tyler would have been bleeding from the head, probably even dead. The first shot was fired and Tyler leaped off Matt in an attempt to dodge the bullet. "Go ahead, Matty, kill me."

"Don't tempt me, Lockwood."

"With me gone, you can finally be a good slave to the Sheriff and pretend to protect her daughter from everything right?"

"With you gone, Caroline and I can have a normal life. I would never let anything happen to her. you're the one that left her to die."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Tyler straightened up and rolled his shoulders as Matt pushed himself to his feet, aiming the gun at Tyler as he shook, "Do it, Matt. If you dare."

"Fuck you, Tyler," Tyler watched Matt's finger on the trigger and planned his move carefully as Matt pulled it. He jumped aside and rolled on the floor before charging at Matt, grabbing the gun out of his hand and using the butt of the gun to hit Matt in the face. Wincing as Matt started bleeding, Tyler tossed the gun aside and hit him again, waiting for Matt to go still under him. His heart was racing and he could feel the wolf part of him come alive as he held Matt down firmly as he continued hitting him. A soft whimper escaped his lips before he stopped moving and Tyler had to force himself to pull his fist away from Matt's face. Breathing heavily, Tyler crawled off Matt and leaned against the wall, his knuckles bloody from the punching and his body in the kind of pain that he only experienced that time when he was going through his first transformation. He was on fire, he could feel the heat move through his body as he closed his eyes and shook with anger. He should have just left things as they were, he should have asked Caroline to come away with him, that way none of this would be happening. Forcing his eyes open, Tyler looked at Matt and then at the gun lying a few feet away from them. Shaking the pain off, he carefully pushed himself to his feet and picked up the gun. He checked for bullets and emptied it onto the counter, careful not to touch the bullets. Looking over at Matt again, Tyler shook his head and rummaged through the kitchen drawers for something to put the bullets into. Hearing Matt say his name, Tyler grabbed a kitchen towel and covered the bullets with it before tying it up and shoving it into his pocket, "I'm going to find you and kill you, Lockwood."

"You won't, because you're never going to see me again."

"I've known you my entire life, I know you."

"You don't know anything about me, Matty, that boy you knew back then is no longer here." Matt closed his swollen eyes and turned away, Tyler felt a pang of guilt as he looked at the only friend he had for the longest time and then let himself out of the house. If the neighborhood had heard the shots, nobody was doing anything about it, it was eerily silent as Tyler stepped out of the house. Patting his pockets for his phone and the kitchen towel with the bullets, Tyler started walking towards Bonnie's house. He needed to get Caroline out of town and he needed to do it fast. All that crap about not wanting to be attached to her was just that, crap. He was so far gone when it came to her, Tyler would have killed Matt if that was the only way to keep Caroline safe.

_**xxx**_

"This movie is so predictable!"

"Says the person who wants to watch _The Notebook_ every time we get together."

"That's a really romantic movie, boy fighting for the girl because she's the love of his life and girl giving up everything to be with the boy because she can't ever imagine a life without him in it."

"What's the difference between that one and this one?"

"It doesn't have Ryan Gosling or Rachel McAdams," Caroline shrugged as she smiled at Elena and Bonnie and almost instantly her smile faded, "Caroline, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…" she stood up and chewed on her bottom lip before turning back to the girls, "Keep watching, I'll be right back."

"Care, there's a spell around the house, nobody can get in."

"I know, Bonnie, I just feel something is off."

"We'll come with you," Caroline shook her head and gave them a soft smile, "I'll be fine. I'll scream if I need help."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Being a vampire has to be good for something right?" The girls giggled as Caroline pushed her hair out of her face and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a steak knife as she looked around the kitchen and edged closer to the back door and pulled it open, sticking the knife out as Tyler stepped out of the shadows, bloody and messed up, "Oh my God."

"We need to go."

"What happened to you?"

"Put the knife down, Caroline, we need to go," he stepped towards the door and growled as he hit an invisible wall and Caroline sighed heavily, "Gimme a minute, don't move." She kept the door open as she set the knife down and hurried into the hall to get her jacket and bag. When she got back to the kitchen, Tyler was gently rubbing his knuckles. She stepped out and shut the door behind her, carefully putting a hand on his face to tilt it up so she could look at him, "What did you do?"

"Matt and I got into a fight."

"Did you…?" She swallowed hard, dropping her hand as she looked at him, "No, I couldn't do that."

"Tyler…"

"Mystic Falls is not safe, Caroline, you need to leave."

"What about you?"

"You have to leave with me."

"Tyler, I can't just leave my mother and Elena and Bonnie behind."

"Trust me, they'll be fine."

"What do you know that I don't?"

"Can we please just leave?"

"I can't just walk away from this town now."

"We can't talk about this here, Caroline."

"Where are we going, Tyler?"

"The Lockwood cellar."


	3. What Is And What Should Never Be

_**Disclaimer:**__ The Vampire Diaries is the property of CW. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is no longer a one-shot and has officially taken an AU turn. Things will coincide with what is happening on the show, but it's going to be totally warped in so many ways._

* * *

The Lockwood Cellar was a place of a million memories and Caroline knew that by bringing her there, Tyler was asking her to trust him. This was his safe place. The one place he could be whenever and not be worried about being caught or betrayed by anyone else. And other than Caroline, Mason was the only person who even knew what went down there. That was till things started getting a little difficult in Mystic Falls and everyone needed to be aware of all the things that were happening around them. But she still knew that Tyler had brought her to the cellar simply because it was the one place that he could tell her whatever he wanted and be sure that nobody could hear. Looking around the destroyed cave-like space, Caroline inhaled sharply and rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans. Someone had been in here since his last transformation and Caroline was sure that it wasn't Tyler. There was no way he had transformed one night while she was asleep and there was no way she had missed a full moon either. Finding a spot to sit, Caroline looked over her shoulder at Tyler and then sat down, pushing her hair out of her face, "You should have let me tell the girls I was going. Now they're going to get worried."

"Why didn't you just text them on the way here?"

"You were holding my arm really tight!"

"You could have asked me to let go so that you can text them."

"It doesn't matter now; they've probably called my mother and told her that I got kidnapped."

"Do you want to go back there?"

"Yes, but I want you to tell me why you dragged me out here first," Caroline huffed as Tyler sat down across from her, his eyes dark and distant, "Tyler, what happened between you and Matt?"

"They know."

"They know what?"

"They know about you being a vampire, about me being a werewolf, about the Salvatore's and everything."

"They meaning Matt and who?"

"Your mother."

"What?" She felt the blood drain from her face as she stared back at Tyler and Caroline was pretty sure she wasn't even breathing anymore. Blinking a few times, trying to shake herself out of this state, Caroline kept her eyes on Tyler, "How do you know?"

"When I stayed downstairs after you went up to get ready, I eavesdropped on your mother and Matt talking in the kitchen. They've known for a while, Care."

"Why would she do that to me?"

"Because she has been hunting vampires her whole life and to hear that her daughter is one of them now, means that she's going to be freaking out."

"Why didn't she just tell me?"

"What was she going to tell you? Caroline, I know you're a vampire, but I am sorry, I have to kill you and your friends?"

"She-she's going to kill me?"

"No, but she is making it her mission to kill everyone else."

"Tyler…"

"This is why I need you to leave with me, Caroline. I need you to leave Mystic Falls."

"I can't just leave Bonnie and Elena behind, Tyler."

"They're not going to hurt Bonnie or Elena, trust me."

"If they know the Salvatore's are vampires, then they also know that Elena is aware of this, so they will hurt her just to get to the brothers."

"Look," Caroline chewed on her bottom lip and stared at her through glassy eyes, "I care about Elena, I do, but all I'm concerned about right now is you. I can't keep fighting them off and protecting you if you're right here where they want you."

"I can't leave, Tyler. Mystic falls is home, you said it yourself."

"Baby, please listen to me," Caroline closed her eyes as tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I want us to be stay here and continue with our lives like normal, but we can't. Not when everybody is looking for a chance to hurt you."

"Where would we go?"

"I don't know yet, I just know we need to leave."

"How are we going to survive outside of Mystic Falls, Tyler? This is the one place we are safe because there are more of us. Out there, there's probably one vampire for every 500 humans and probably no werewolves."

"We'll find a hospital and steal blood bags for you, and find a secluded spot for me for full moons."

"Okay," Caroline nodded, using the back of her free hand to wipe her cheeks and then reached for his other hand, giving it a quick squeeze, "Let's go away then."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For dragging you away from your home, for making this difficult for you, for everything."

"Hey," Caroline pulled her hands away and cupped his face gently, stroking his cheek with her thumb as she smiled at him, "I love you and I trust you. I wouldn't let you leave without me again anyway and if you think this is the best thing for us to do, and then we'll do it."

"It's going to be really hard, Care."

"If you're right there with me, I'll be okay."

"Okay," Tyler leaned forward and kissed her softly, smiling against her lips as she pushed a hand into his hair, "We should get you home so you can pack."

"And you need to go see your mother."

"Care…"

"Look, this might be the last time you'll ever see her. If someone comes looking for you and hurts her, you're never going to forgive yourself. This way, you can see her one last time and talk to her and tell her where you've been."

"She's not going to let me go once I go there."

"I'll come with you, we're right here, Tyler," Caroline nodded, begging him with her eyes, "Then we can go home and pack everything up and leave."

"Okay," Tyler let out a long sigh and smiled up at her, Caroline returned the smile and pressed her lips to his quickly, "Let's do this while it's still dark outside."

_**xxx**_

He did not want to do this. He did not want to go see his mother, say goodbye and walk away all at the same time. He definitely didn't want to think about someone hurting her because they couldn't find him. The thought had crossed his mind, to take her with them, but he knew that that wouldn't work either. This would take a lot of strength and courage and it would require Tyler to control the urge to tell her the truth as well. They walked in silence all the way to the Lockwood mansion, Caroline squeezing his hand being the only thing confirming that she was still with him. He couldn't breathe normally and he was scared to take his eyes off the path as they reached the main gate. There might have been something watching them in the woods, he would never have known because he was too busy trying to remember how to breathe and making sure that Caroline wasn't going to freak out on him all of a sudden. When they got to the main door, he looked at her and then reached for the handle, inhaling deeply as he stepped into the house. Caroline paused for a minute and then stepped in after him, wringing her hands as she shut the door and waited, "She's probably in bed."

"Wait here; keep an eye out for anything that seems off."

"And then what?"

"If you can't kill it, scream," he gave her a soft smile and Caroline rolled her eyes playfully before nodding, "Go."

Tyler climbed the stairs to his mother's bedroom, his heart pounding and his breath a little shaky as he moved through the dark halls of the house he grew up in. in a few hours, he would never see this house again and he would never see his mother again. Everything that he was doing was meant to protect to the two most important people in his life, but there was no way he could tell his mother the truth. He couldn't tell her that her son had unlocked the Lockwood curse and was now a werewolf every full moon. No mother was prepared for that and whether or not Carol Lockwood knew the truth about her husband's family or not, she would never be okay with knowing that her son was now a werewolf, in love with a vampire and getting ready to run away. Shaking his head as he reached the master bedroom, Tyler took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open. His mother was lying in the center of the bed – a habit she had picked up since his father had died – and she had the sheets pulled up to her chest, one hand resting on the top of the sheet, the other tucked under the pillow. Tyler smiled at the sight and moved towards the bed, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he brushed her hair out of her face. He couldn't put her at risk by taking her with them, but at the same time he couldn't risk her becoming a victim in the search for Tyler and Caroline. He knew that people would start pointing fingers this way for Caroline going missing, but there was no way he was leaving her behind. He wasn't going to risk losing her. Tyler bent down to press a soft kiss to her forehead, pulling back as she stirred and mumbled his name, "Is it really you?"

"Hey Mom."

"I was so worried, honey."

"I'm sorry Mom."

"You're back."

"I'm back."

"Where did you go?"

"To find Mason."

"And," Carol sat up carefully and Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets, "Did you?"

"No," he shook his head, avoiding meeting his mother's eye as he shuffled, "I think he's really missing. And I have to go back to find him."

"Tyler, this isn't safe."

"I promise to call you every three days with what is happening and I promise to tell you as soon as I find him, okay?"

"When do you leave?"

"As soon as I can get my things packed."

"Are you going alone?" Tyler raised his eyebrow at her question and frowned before he noticed where his mother was looking, "I'm going with him, Mrs. Lockwood."

"What about your mother, Caroline?"

"She won't miss me, she's so busy vampire hunting in Mystic Falls anyway."

"That's not true."

"It is and you know it," Caroline shrugged and stopped beside Tyler, "But that's okay, I can at least help Tyler this way."

"Are you two…?" Tyler looked down at their hands as Caroline linked her fingers with his and then nodded, "Yeah, we are."

"You look happy, Tyler, so I guess I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Mom," giving Caroline's hand a quick squeeze and he nodded, "I'm going to go pack, get some rest, and I'll call you when we get somewhere safe."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. Please be careful and don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

"I'm guessing I shouldn't tell the Sheriff you two were here before your getaway?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood."

"Be good to him, Caroline, he's all I've got left."

"I will," Tyler looked at Caroline as she smiled and slowly led the way out of the master bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He closed his eyes briefly and started for his bedroom, still holding Caroline's hand, "I'm sorry I came upstairs."

"It's okay," Tyler pulled her into his room and shut the door behind them, smiling as she stepped into his arms, "I should have been ready to tell her anyway."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, it's not for me. It's for you," Tyler wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned forward for a quick kiss before pulling away and stepping out of her embrace, "Okay, let's get me packed and then we can get your things and drive to wherever America."

_**xxx**_

The drive to the Forbes house was slow and silent. Every time he made a turn, Caroline flinched in the seat beside him. She was more scared than he was and Tyler was terrified. He didn't want them getting caught and most of all; he did not want anybody stopping them. Between the two of them they could take out whomever and whatever came their way, but that wasn't something he wanted. He didn't want to leave any trail behind and since he didn't know of any other wolves in Mystic Falls – other than Jules who he was sure hadn't followed him there – there was no chance of anyone picking up his scent. He was sure of that much. Parking a few blocks from the Forbes house, Tyler helped Caroline out and they walked through the backyards of her neighbors before crawling into her room via the back window. He could hear voices downstairs and when he peeked over the bannister at the stairs, Tyler saw the lights on in every room. He shut the door behind him silently and slid to the floor, leaning against the wood as he watched Caroline pack her bags. He was asking her to give up so much because he believed that she was in danger. He was asking her to sacrifice her life because he believed that if she didn't, someone would take her away from him. He was the one who left before; he had no right to tell her what she could and couldn't do. But he had and she had listened, simply because she knew he was right. Or because she wasn't ready to lose him yet. He heard footsteps on the staircase, quickly jumped to his feet, pulled the door open silently and turned the lights off, grabbing Caroline's bag and hurrying her into the bathroom as the sounds of the footsteps got louder, "What are you doing?"

"Someone's coming up," Caroline clung to him as Tyler gently set her bag in the bathtub and he kept his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the shadow to pass so that he would be certain of who was in the house. He heard two voices and carefully helping Caroline into the bathtub, Tyler stayed hidden in the shadows as he watched what was happening. The Sheriff and Matt were now in Caroline's room, Matt pacing the floor as the Sheriff sat on the edge of the bed, shaking her head, "Tyler heard us talking. He knows that we know. Which means that he's going to make sure that Caroline stays safe."

"When did he get back?"

"I should be asking you that, he's been living under this roof since he got back."

"What?"

"While you were trying to avoid facing your daughter, the towns one and only werewolf was here, sleeping in her bed, and probably doing God knows what to her."

"Matt, why would you believe Tyler?"

"Because I've known him long enough to know when he's lying and when he's telling me the truth."

"But you said Caroline's been normal the last few days?"

"She's been cheerful and happy and always smiling and it's normal for her, but still not completely normal."

"So you're telling me that Tyler Lockwood has been back in town for a while and he's been sleeping with my daughter and he now knows that we know about him and everyone else in this town?"

"Pretty much."

"We need to talk to Carol Lockwood."

"And ask her what?"

"If she's seen Tyler," closing his eyes briefly, Tyler felt Caroline grip his forearm and when he opened it again, he saw the Sheriff and Matt leave the room. Inhaling sharply, he rested his head against the cool tile and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the sound of the footsteps to fade, but they didn't. Caroline made a motion to get out of the tub and he shook his head, gritting his teeth as he peered out from behind the bathroom door, "Sheriff, they're not here. We would know if they were."

"How, Matt? How would we know?"

"For one, they'd still be here. Two, there'd be a car parked outside."

"I just don't trust Tyler Lockwood, never have."

"Trust me, if he was here, he would have made himself known already."

"Fine," he heard the Sheriff huff before taking a deep breath and speaking again, "I have to go back to the station, but I want you to stay here for a little longer, just to make sure that everything is okay. And just in case Caroline comes home."

"Okay."

"You can clean up your face with the kit in the kitchen, don't let Caroline see you all bruised and cut up. We don't want her asking questions." Tyler felt Caroline tense beside him and when he turned to look at her, she was biting down on her bottom lip really hard, tears spilling down her cheeks. Tyler shook his head and she buried her face in his shoulder, turning back to look into the room as he watched the shadows fade, followed by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Turning a little to look at Caroline, Tyler frowned, "We can't go back into the room, Care."

"I know," she looked down at the bag in her hands and sighed, "I've got almost enough for a few days, we can buy more if I run out of clothes."

"Okay, get your bathroom stuff and we'll go."

"Tyler?"

"Mhm?" He busied himself by grabbing all the things he thought important from the cabinet above her sink, "How long are we going to be away for?"

"I don't know," he turned to look at her, sitting at the edge of the bathtub, wiping her cheeks, "Why?"

"Will I ever get to see anyone again?"

"Caroline…"

"I know you're trying to protect me, Tyler, but these people are my family. Whether they're trying to kill me or not, I can't just pretend like I don't care about them."

"You shouldn't care about them so much when all they're trying to do is hurt you and what you have become."

"It's not my fault that I'm a vampire!"

"Shhh!" Tyler kneeled in front of her and smiled softly, "I'm not blaming you and saying that all of this is your fault. But you're already at terms with what you are, the rest of the world isn't. And while you do care about them, they are terrified of you and they really can't protect you if they try to hurt everyone else."

"So your answer to my original question is that we probably might never come back to Mystic Falls?"

"Unless we really need to."

"Okay," Tyler watched as Caroline closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, "You owe me a whole lot sex for going through this kind of trauma in one night."

"Consider it done," Tyler kissed her on the forehead softly and stood up to gather her things together. Putting everything into her bag and carefully walks to the window, tosses her bag out and waits for her before climbing out of the window. Tyler helped Caroline down and waited for her to take his hand, her bag in his other hand as she stared at the kitchen window, a faint of Matt moving around in the room, "He's never going to forgive either of us."

"He'll get over it."

"Do you hate him, Tyler?"

"No, I wish I could hate him, but he's been my only friend for the longest time."

"Does he hate you?"

"Yes, because of what I have with you. And because of what I am."

"Will he ever look at me the same way again?"

"Caroline…"

"Just answer the question, Tyler."

"No, he will never look at you the same way again."

"Let's go."

Tyler released her hand as she started walking towards the car, he watched the window waiting for Matt to pass it again and shook his head as he turned around and followed Caroline. This was not how he saw things going for her, or for them. But he knew that he had to protect her and he had to deal with whatever came with loving her and wanting her safe. He knew from the start that a vampire and werewolf coming together wasn't the smartest thing, but the heart wants what the heart wants and no matter if you're human or a supernatural being you just had to listen and follow what was clearly wanted and needed.


	4. I Can't Quit You, Baby

_**Disclaimer:**__ The Vampire Diaries is the property of CW. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is no longer a one-shot and has officially taken an AU turn. Things will coincide with what is happening on the show, but it's going to be totally warped in so many ways._

* * *

She was wearing a red bikini with white polka dots, her hair down, sunglasses covering her eyes and a rainbow cocktail in her hand. This was pretty perfect, even if the idea of running away from home had been the last thing on her mind. She did miss Mystic Falls. She missed her mother, even if she was trying to get rid of everyone else around her, she missed Matt and she missed the sound of Elena and Bonnie squealing and laughing. Just the thought made her smile and if she was being honest, she liked the way things were happening for her right then. She couldn't see him, but Caroline knew that Tyler was watching her. He had a few more weeks before the next full moon and Caroline knew that he was looking for a place where he could lock himself up so that nobody got hurt and so that word of werewolves didn't get out. Nobody needed to know that the supernatural things they read about in books and saw in movies were real. It was hard enough keeping things a secret in Mystic Falls; she could only imagine how difficult it would be in a place like Daytona Beach, Florida. They had spent a few days trying to track down Mason's old place, but that had been a bust when Tyler realized that Daytona Beach was probably not where Mason would have come to stay if he was trying to keep some big secret from the rest of the world. This wasn't the most ideal location, but it gave them the freedom to do whatever they wanted. A blood bank wasn't too far from where they were staying and Caroline knew that after a week of drinking the bank dry, people would start to notice. They had found a way to get her enough blood while replacing the bags they had taken. Tyler had even suggested that she attempt to drink his blood. If not directly from him, then he would pump his blood into a bag so that she could drink. A fight had progressed from there and Tyler had stormed out of the apartment and had stayed gone for three whole nights while Caroline sat on the balcony watching the waves hit the shore and retreat almost instantly. When he came back, he brought her a cooler full off blood bags and he sat in a corner of the room watching her drink every last drop out of those bags. They never fought again after that. They only had each other and fighting wasn't helping their living arrangements and it wasn't making Caroline believe that she had made the right decision by leaving Mystic Falls with a temperamental werewolf. Whether she loved him or not.

Holding the straw between her lips, Caroline looked around at the people sitting around her and noticed the way all the girls were looking at something – correction: _someone_ – behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Tyler, because every female member sitting around the pool had that same look that Caroline used to have by just being around Tyler. Tilting her head instinctively as she felt his fingers move down her neck, Caroline let out a soft whimper and released the straw from her lips to run her tongue over it. He had been depriving her of sex for days now and she was starting to lose her mind. She didn't realize just how much she wanted him till he took it away from her. Sometimes when she woke up before him, Caroline would attempt to make full use of his morning wood, but that would last all of six seconds before Tyler would wake up and toss her off him so that she had to help herself get over the need that was clearly setting her whole body on fire. Now he was just taunting her again and at the same time, he was teasing the watching women, letting them know that he was taken and they could stare all they want. Caroline shuddered involuntarily as Tyler moved to sit beside her. She bit down on her lip and shifted on the pool chair and tilted her head to look at him. It was the way things always happened. He would come to check on her for a few minutes, he'd look around the pool area, trying to see if there was a threat of any kind, give her a kiss and tell her he'd see her later. She watched his back muscles flex – she was silently glad that he wasn't wearing one of those useless t-shirts of his this time – and then focused all her attention on his face. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed and even though she was looking at him from the side, Caroline could tell something was wrong. Setting her drink down, she sat up and rested her chin on his shoulder, slipping an arm through his to link her fingers with his. Caroline felt him relax almost instantly and that made her smile. When he turned his head a little to look at her, she winked at him and leaned in to brush her lips against his slowly, "What's wrong, baby?"

"I feel like we're being watched."

"I hate to break it to you, but every time you come here to visit me, we're being watched."

"Care," Caroline rolled her eyes as Tyler shook his head, "Has this been going on for a few days?"

"The last three days, it's like someone's been inside our apartment and left their mark everywhere."

"Did you try to sniff it out?"

"I did," she pouted and squeezed his hand gently as he sighed heavily and turned away, "It's not strong enough. Or I'm not strong enough."

"Tell me more."

"It smells like home."

"You think someone from Mystic Falls is here to find us?"

"Possibly."

"Tyler," Caroline turned his head to face her and shook her head, "We didn't leave any tracks and we cleaned up pretty well after ourselves."

"We didn't wash the sheets at the motels we were in and you and I both know that motels don't really do a good job of cleaning stuff up."

"Fine, but we spent most our nights in the back of your car."

"I know, baby, I know," Tyler rested his forehead against Caroline's and closed his eyes, "I'm just being paranoid."

"Why?"

"I'm scared that someone is here to take you back."

"You know that I won't leave without you."

"I don't think this person is really going to give you much of a choice."

"Well, they're in for a surprise then."

"I don't want you to fight them off because of me, Caroline."

"For fucks sake, Tyler, I left Mystic Falls for you," she nipped at his shoulder gently; "I'm not leaving you just because Mystic Falls is calling me back."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I love you and even if you don't say it back, I know you love me too. So yeah, I'm sure about this."

"I don't know what makes you think I feel the same way."

"Well, you definitely love me for the mind blowing sex I provide you with," Caroline shrugged and pouted, "Speaking of which, aren't you missing me at all?"

"It's a test."

"To prove what?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well, time's up, pencils down," Caroline placed soft kisses along his shoulder and smiled, "Test is over. I want you."

_**xxx**_

Tyler never understood how they made it into their apartment in one piece when they were literally clawing at each other, trying to get the other naked first. He thanked whoever put the elevator into the five storied building for the fantastic addition, because by the time they reached their fifth floor apartment, Caroline was wet to the point that she was dripping down her leg slowly. There was a lot of whining and whimpering when he set her on her feet before tugging her along to their apartment. While everybody living in the complex was young and unmarried, Tyler didn't want to give anyone a reason to stare at the two of them or at Caroline for that matter. She was all his and nobody else's and as history showed, he didn't like to share. Tugging her into the apartment as he got the door shut, Tyler pressed Caroline's back against the door and crashed his lips down on hers. He slipped a hand between them to palm her through her bikini bottoms and nipped at her bottom lip as a low growl fell from her lips. She mumbled something as she raked her fingers through his hair, tugging on it. Tyler took his time untying the strings of her bikini bottoms as Caroline's hips bucked against his desperately. She was on her tip-toes by the time he let her bikini bottoms fall and a satisfied whimper escaped her lips as she pulled away from him for a minute to catch her breath. Tyler brushed his nose against hers as he moved a finger down her slit, teasing her folds before slipping a finger into her. growling as he heard her breath hitch in her throat, Tyler pushed his finger deeper and covered her mouth with his. Just the sounds she was making was enough to make him come in his shorts right then, but he wasn't going to let go alone and he wasn't going to be the kind of guy that released before the girl had even reached that point. Slipping his free hand behind Caroline, Tyler untied her bikini top and let it fall to the floor as she moved her hips against his finger. Tyler sucked on her bottom lip as he felt her walls quiver around him, clenching and unclenching around his finger as her body shuddered against his. She clearly had missed him and this was more than enough proof of that. She murmured his name as she pulled her lips away from his, "Baby…."

"Just let go," she nodded as her back arched off the door, taking Tyler's finger into her a little deeper as she tightened around him and soaked his finger completely, her body shuddering violently as she came down from her climax. Tyler carefully slipped his finger out of her as Caroline gripped at his arms for support and he noticed her legs getting a little wobbly as she smiled with her eyes shut, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. "Now, fuck me. Hard. Make me come again."

"Whatever you want, princess."

Caroline wanted to move, she didn't want their neighbors hearing them, but Tyler wasn't going to budge. He liked having her pressed up against the door like that, digging her nails into his skin as she urged him for more. So when he kicked his shorts off, picked her up and slammed her against the door again, he saw the shock cross her face as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding on for dear life. Tyler didn't pause to let her get comfortable, he pushed into her as soon as her legs were around his waist, his hips pressed hard against hers as he slid into her fully. Moving his hands down to her hips, he gently peeled her off the door, letting her rest her head against the wood as he thrust into her fast and hard. Her nails scraped up his back and to his shoulders as she moved her hips against his, begging for more. Tyler shifted a little and leaned forward to capture one of her nipples between his lips as she dug the heel of her foot into his butt and bucked her hips against his. He sucked on her nipple, taking his time by teasing her as she pushed a hand into her hair and tugged on it hard as he kept a steady pace of thrusting into her. Her body arched even more and Tyler had to rest his hands on her back to steady her against him as he pushed harder into her. her cries got louder, her moans turning into screams and her nails digging into his shoulder hard enough to draw blood. Tyler ignored the pain, just focused on how good she felt around him. warm, wet and tight. Tyler pushed into her once more, drawing a loud moan from her lips as she came again, soaking his length, her body quivering with pleasure. He rode it out with her, his lips pressed to the skin between her breasts as he emptied himself into her, and her arms snaked around his neck to hold him close. Tyler worked on catching his breath as he listened to the sound of Caroline's breathing along with the soft sounds of her chuckling as her fingers massaged the back of his neck. "If you do that every time you deprive me of sex for this long, I think I'll be okay with you depriving me of sex."

"I don't think I can deprive myself of sex anymore. Definitely not after that."

"Good, because as much as I love the romantic stuff we do, having you buried _deep_ inside me is probably my favorite thing in the whole world."

"Don't worry your pretty blonde head; I think I'm going to stay like this for as long as I can."

"Can you please warn me before you get hard again, because I would like to be prepared for that epic moment?"

"I'm hard again."

_**xxx**_

After the fourth time, Caroline pretty much lost count of the number of times they had sex. What she did know was that they had covered every flat surface of their apartment and he had even let her take control a few times. She was sore and her muscles ached and her lips were raw and her nails had blood under them and she couldn't even turn to look at Tyler. But it was all worth it. Sometimes being supernatural beings paid off, because as much as the never ending sex took a toll on them, their bodies seemed to recover fast enough for another round almost instantly. Smiling to herself, Caroline drew lazy shapes on the back of Tyler's hand that was wrapped around her waist. She shifted carefully, pressing her back against his chest and bit down on her lip at the feel of his erection pressed against her. "Stop it."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're thinking you want me again."

"I always want you. Again."

"Not this time."

"You mean you don't want me again."

"If either of us could move right now, this conversation wouldn't be happening."

"Good point."

"Now, go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Did you get your car fixed?"

"Yes ma'am, which is why we have a long day tomorrow."

"Ty?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you love me?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good," Caroline closed her eyes and sighed happily as Tyler linked his fingers with hers and gave her hand a quick squeeze. She knew that leaving Mystic Falls meant that she would be with Tyler and only Tyler. It was bound to get difficult for the both of them, but she was willing to make that sacrifice because she needed him in her life. Nobody – other than the Salvatore brothers – knew what it was like to be an outsider in your own hometown. Being a vampire made things difficult for her, but Tyler seemed to be okay with her despite it all. And while it would take him forever to tell her that he _loved_ her, he was definitely making progress and Caroline couldn't argue with that. Not now, not ever.

Sleeping had become a luxury and Caroline took every opportunity she got to curl up under the covers, pull them over her head and sleep for as long as she could. Right then, while her body was worn out the way it was, sleeping was the best way to spend her time recovering. So much so that she didn't even know that Tyler wasn't beside her anymore. When she finally came to and her body was willing to let her move, Caroline turned onto her back slowly and stretched her arm out, looking for Tyler. Whimpering unhappily as her hand moved over the empty space beside her, Caroline forced her eyes open and looked around the room. There was no sign of Tyler, causing Caroline to sit up quickly, her eyes scanning the whole room. His boxers were not on the floor beside the bed, the patio door was wide open and the bathroom wasn't being used. Caroline carefully got out of bed; grabbed one of Tyler's discarded t-shirts and pulled it on over her head. As she tucked her hair behind her ear and everything else started to come into focus, she could hear the voices. She almost sat back down, but she knew that if she left Tyler to deal with this alone, something bad would happen. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Caroline walked out of the bedroom and found Tyler standing with his arms crossed over his chest with Jules standing across from him, on the other side of the marble island in the kitchen. "Jules…what are you doing here?"

"I've come to get Tyler."

"What for?" Caroline looked from Jules to Tyler and back as she shifted from foot to foot. Tyler wasn't looking at her and that only meant that something bad was definitely going to happen. Caroline chewed on her bottom lip as Jules shook her head, "He can't be here with you and I know you think you're soul mates and this is where you belong, but a vampire and a werewolf cannot be together."

"You do not get to decide what happens in this relationship."

"I do, when one of my kind is being sucked into something that can kill him."

"I am not going to kill him!"

"Yeah, because you love him. we get it," Caroline looked at Tyler as he growled under his breath and then turned back to Jules, "You're a danger to him, you need to understand that now."

"I want you to leave."

"I'm not leaving without Tyler."

"Yes, you are," Caroline gritted her teeth to stop the fangs from making an appearance, "Look, I'm not the only one looking for the two of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Stefan's here," Caroline looked at Tyler as he spoke and shook her head, wondering if she had heard him right, "How did he find us?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that he is and that's how Jules found us."

"Is this what you were talking about when you said that you could sense home?" Tyler nodded, his eyes meeting hers briefly and Caroline swallowed hard, closing her eyes as she shook her head firmly, "You can't have him, Jules. I did not come all this way to lose him again."

"I don't care what you want, _Caroline_, he has to come with me. Your decision to run away with a werewolf has created quite the uproar with the rest of the bloodsuckers, so you can't really even argue about this with me."

"It wasn't her idea, Jules, it was mine," Caroline noticed the shock in Jules' eyes as she turned to look at Tyler, "I needed to get her out of Mystic Falls."

"Is that why you walked away from me? To come back, be a hero and take the precious blonde vampire away from everything and everyone that she knows?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that."

"So start explaining."

_**xxx**_

Tyler paced the room, muttering to himself as he raked a hand through his hair over and over again. He could feel Caroline watching him, but he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. this was his fault. Stefan Salvatore was in Daytona Beach looking for Caroline and Jules had come looking for him. he knew that somewhere along the way, they had left a trail. That someone was going to find them. But he didn't really expect people to go all out looking for them. He should never have dragged Caroline away from Mystic Falls. That was her home and that was where she belonged, whether or not her mother and _boyfriend_ were trying to find ways to kill all the other vampires in town. The fact that he loved her and wanted her to be safe were not important anymore, he could not keep her safe if there would always be someone looking for her. what kind of life was he hoping to give her if they had to keep looking over their shoulders?

"Can you please talk to me?"

"What do you want me to say, Care?"

"What are we going to do now?"

"You should go back with Stefan."

"We talked about this, Tyler, I'm not going anywhere without you."

"We don't have a choice. This is not something that you or I can decide."

"I don't care!" Tyler stopped pacing and turned to face her as she kneeled on the bed, staring at him, "I don't care, Tyler. If you're going somewhere, I'm going with you."

"Jules will pitch a fit."

"Then don't go with Jules," he watched her as she crawled off the bed and moved to stand in front of him, "Come with me. We'll go somewhere else."

"This is not a good idea, Caroline."

"None of this - you and me, running away – was a good idea," she rested a hand on his chest and smiled a little, "But we made our choices."

"Being with me is dangerous for you."

"If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be somewhere with you instead of in a place where nobody gives a fuck about me."

"You sound like me now," Tyler smiled softly as Caroline cupped his face with both her hands, stroking his cheek with her thumb, "We just need to pack up and move as soon as possible. We'll be careful about leaving tracks and we'll just have to make this work without setting off too many alarms."

"You do realize that with Stefan and Jules here, that is close to impossible?"

"Why do you sound so scared?"

"Because I know how Jules functions and from whatever time I've spent with Stefan, I know that nothing is going to stop him from getting what he wants," Tyler gently pulled Caroline's hands off his face, "And right now, he wants you to go back with him to Mystic Falls."

"So that's it, then? You're not even going to fight for me?

"This is bigger than you and me, Caroline."

"No, it's not. You either want to be with me or you want to go join your wolfpack and leave me alone again."

"You don't get it!" Tyler tried to keep his voice under control, but it was proving to be difficult when Caroline was staring at him like he had just killed her, "If you go with me wherever, the Salvatores will come looking for me and they will kill me, because it doesn't take too much to kill a werewolf that has someone to make me vulnerable. And the wolves are not going to hold back on hurting you just because you're with me."

"I did not give up everything for you to just throw it away because you're scared of a few vampires and a pack of wolves."

"I need you to let me do this."

"I can't, Tyler," Caroline hugged herself, closing her eyes as she shook her head, "I'm scared that if I let go, I'll never get you back."

"I promise I'll come back for you, but if I don't go now, they're going to kill you."

"I can fight off a bunch of werewolves."

"One bite is all it takes, Care, if they get you good then I don't know how I'm going to save you."

"We'll find a way."

"Caroline, listen to me," Tyler grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently so that she would open her eyes and look at him, "A werewolf bite for a vampire is just as good as being staked, the difference is that you can't undo a bite. Once you're bitten, you fade away slowly. I will not stand by and watch you die."

"You're willing to leave me with a bunch of people that don't care about me, how is that any different?"

"Because I can come back for you if you're still alive. If you're gone, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Make wolf babies with Jules."

"Dammit Caroline, this is serious."

"You cannot leave me again. You promised you wouldn't leave me again."

"I promised that I would give you fair warning before I left you and this is my fair warning."

"What if you don't come back?"

"I promise you that I will come back."

"What will I do while you're gone?"

"Just stay low, don't draw too much attention and wait for me."

"Everybody knows I ran away, Tyler, they're all going to be watching me closely."

"Just don't give them any reason to pounce on you and lock you away."

"How long will you be gone for?"

"I don't know. I have to go to Texas with Jules," Tyler stepped away from Caroline and started packing his bags, "I'm thinking a few weeks."

"And you're leaving now?"

"Stefan is on his way and I don't want to be here when he arrives."

"He's not going to hurt you, Tyler."

"Yes, he is," Tyler looked up at her and shook his head, "Stefan might love Elena, Caroline, but you mean a lot to him. he's as protective of you as he is of Elena and it doesn't matter that you can take care of yourself, he's always going to look out for you."

"How do you even know that?"

"That one time he cornered me, when I could stop the pack from poking and prodding you, I figured it out."

"Which means that he will not hurt you because he knows that I love you."

"I _need_ to go before he gets here."

"Will you call me?"

"As soon as we're off the road," Tyler pulled on clean clothes, shrugging on his jacket as he stepped back in front of her, "I promise I will call you."

"This is the stupidest idea you've ever had," Tyler smiled, pressing his lips against her forehead as she clutched at his shirt, "I love you."

"I love you too."


	5. When The Levee Breaks

_**Disclaimer:**__ The Vampire Diaries is the property of CW. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is no longer a one-shot and has officially taken an AU turn. Things will coincide with what is happening on the show, but it's going to be totally warped in so many ways._

* * *

He has never hated any one place as much as he hates Dallas. There is nothing really wrong with the city of Dallas or the state of Texas, but Tyler isn't where he wants to be. He's meant to be with Caroline, in Daytona Beach, watching the waves, talking about the next stop, running away from everyone and everything. Except he's in Dallas, sitting in a SUV with Jules typing away furiously on her laptop while he watches the people passing them and Caroline is back in Mystic Falls, probably under house arrest with her mother, Matt and the Salvatores watching her closely. The reason he took her away was to save her from all of that, but now he's sent her right back into the lion's cage. There is nothing he can do other than going to get her. But that will piss Jules off and everyone in Mystic Falls will band against him. He's tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the steering wheel as Jules swears and mutters under her breath. They've been in Dallas for a month and what they have achieved so far is a meeting with a wolf pack just outside of the city limits. Tyler doesn't even know what the point of these meetings are because nobody really gets much talking done between all the growling and shouting and fighting. It bothers all the other packs that there is a woman in charge of this pack, but Jules isn't going to tell them that she's _not_ the Alpha, because she needs them to trust her and she can't do that if they get wind of her true title. Tyler doesn't understand how the hierarchy works or who comes next when the original Alpha dies and he knows that doing research on Jules' laptop is probably not the smartest thing. But he's assuming that it works the same way the hierarchy in kingdoms and families work. When the father dies, his son takes over and so on and so forth. Which means that with Mason gone, Tyler's technically next in line. But he doesn't want to question it and he doesn't want to be the damn Alpha, that keeps him tied to Jules and the rest of the wolves he encountered in Mystic Falls. He just wants to get out and get away from all of this. He's embraced his werewolf side, but that doesn't mean he wants to hang out with the others like him. It's stupid. And weird.

"The laptop can't fight back, so go easy on it."

"Don't talk to me right now."

"What are you even looking for?"

"Tyler," he arches an eyebrow as she uses her threatening voice on him, "Keep your eyes ahead."

"I could just hop out of the car and take a walk if my presence is a problem for you."

"You will not do any such thing."

"Then you have two options," Tyler held up one finger, giving her a fake smile, "One, you tell me what's going on so that I can either help you or figure something else out."

"And what is two?"

"Two, I get out and go find something better to do."

"You can't leave the post."

"You've been watching too many of those medieval movies that play on cable in motels."

"Just shut up and sit where you are."

"Wrong option," Tyler unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door, hopping out and taking the car keys with him. Shutting the door, he waved the keys at Jules through the window and pocketed them before walking away. He could hear Jules growling from where he was and instead of running back to the car, Tyler just smiled and continued walking. There was a diner, a coffee shop, a million stores and tons of people walking around. There was no way she was going to try anything funny with him right then. She had already attempted to get him naked a few nights ago and used some lame ass excuse about missing Mason and needing something, but he hadn't gotten over the fact that she had made him give up the girl he wanted, so sex with her was the last thing on his mind. Groaning as he heard her call out to him, Tyler stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to face her as a huge group of kids charged past them, "What?"

"Do you even realize what I brought you here for?"

"To meet some wolf pack, fun times."

"You're the Alpha," he saw the joy pass over her face as he stiffened slightly at her words, "That's right, as a Lockwood, the buck has passed onto you."

"So why are _you_ pushing me around me?"

"Because you're not ready to be the Alpha."

"You get to decide something like that just because you've been doing this longer than me?"

"I get to decide this because you picked a vampire over your own kind."

"What if I don't want to be the Alpha?"

"You don't get to pick and choose here, Tyler. The Alpha responsibility falls on you because you're the next in line."

"And I don't want it."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"I've made it a habit to block your voice out as often as I can," Tyler shrugged as he walked backwards, giving her a brief smile before turning around and joining the squealing group of kids as they headed for what he figured was an ice cream parlor. He didn't want to be Alpha, hell, he didn't even want to be a werewolf, but shit happened and he'd turned. He couldn't control that, but he could control this. He was sure that nobody knew that Mason was gone and if they did, they were keeping this bit of information to themselves. Moving around the kids, Tyler stepped into the coffee shop and smiled at a group of girls that were sitting near the door before heading straight for the counter. Placing his order, Tyler glanced out the window to see if Jules had followed him and then pulled out his phone. Now was the only time he was going to be able to call and find out if everything was okay, especially after that text message he got a few hours ago from Stefan.

_**xxx**_

"I hate you," Caroline threw another one of the cushions from her bed at Stefan as he stayed still on the chair beside the window. She had been doing that for almost an hour and he wasn't even flinching or saying anything back. obviously he was winning this game because all the cushions and pillows and stuffed toys were with him and all Caroline had left was one tiny cushion that was big enough for her thumb and once that was gone, she would be left without any ammo. Stefan was watching her as she toyed with the idea of holding onto the cushion or throwing it at him when the bedroom door swung open and Matt walked in, "I need to speak with Caroline alone."

"Why?" Caroline shook her head as she looked from Matt to Stefan, "I really don't feel like talking to anyone."

"I wasn't asking for your permission, Caroline, I was telling Stefan what I wanted to do."

"You're in my house, I'm pretty sure that I can decide what I want to do."

"Caroline," she spun around to look at Stefan as he said her name and pouted before nodding slightly, "I'll wait outside."

"You should probably go back home, Stefan, there's nothing for you to do here."

"I'll wait outside," Stefan smiled at Caroline as he stood up, staring right back at Matt as he attempted to scare him off, "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Thank you, Stefan," Caroline gave him a weak smile and scooted back on her bed so that her back was pressed against the headboard and pulled her knees up to her chest, watching as Stefan let himself out and Matt sat down where Stefan had been only a few minutes ago, "What do you want, Matt?"

"Tyler Lockwood."

"What?"

"Where's Tyler?"

"How would I know?"

"You ran away with him, I figured you'd be the only person who would know where he was."

"Which part of 'we got separated' did not register with you?"

"All of it," Matt leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs as he watched Caroline. She tilted her head to the side to look at him properly, wondering what the hell happened to the boy that she had once loved. Matt had been staying in the Forbes house a lot and he had been spending all of his time with her mother and with the information that Tyler had given her, Caroline knew that Matt was helping put an end to everything in Mystic Falls. It scared her to know that her ex-boyfriend was trying to kill her and it didn't really comfort her much either, "So, where is Tyler?"

"Like I told my mother the day I got back, I don't know."

"Come on, Care," Matt rolled his eyes and smiled smugly, "You can _trust_ me."

"Even if I didn't _trust_ you, I would tell you the exact same thing. He didn't tell me where he was going."

"Why not? Aren't the two of you in love or whatever?"

"He figured I would follow him there," Caroline ignored the tone of his voice as he spoke and it didn't matter that that was the truth, she wasn't going to let him enjoy seeing her squirm about it, "He wanted to protect me."

"Aw, isn't that just the most romantic thing you've ever heard?"

"What is your problem, Matt?"

"Besides the obvious problem that my best friend is a werewolf and my ex-girlfriend is a vampire?" Matt stood up and slowly paced the room, "Absolutely nothing."

"Why do you want Tyler?"

"Well, we can't hurt you because your mother won't have it. But we can hurt Tyler and get you to cave because he is your biggest weakness."

"_We_?"

"Your mother put a group of people together to put an end to the vampire and werewolf rampage in Mystic Falls."

"Who are you?"

"The guy you dumped for a werewolf."

"That's what this is about?" Caroline climbed off her bed and adjusted the t-shirt she was wearing as Matt turned to face her, "This is about me dumping you for Tyler?"

"Among other things."

"Oh," Caroline rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she shuffled her feet and looked at him, "Please, fill me in."

"You're a vampire, Caroline, how is this normal?"

"It's not, but it's not like I can do anything about it."

"But, we can. Which is why we need to put an end to this."

"Are you crazy? Killing me is not the way to deal with this. if you kill me, someone will come around and try to get you back."

"Someone like Tyler?"

"Someone like other vampires."

"That's good, we can kill them too. We can put everyone out of their misery. Let everyone be at peace."

"Everyone is at peace, Matt; you can't just go around killing people because you think people aren't safe here."

"People aren't safe in Mystic Falls!"

"You cannot do this to take revenge for Vicki's death," Caroline glared at him as Matt winced at the mention of Vicki, "You can't fix everything and bring her back just because you discovered the truth."

"I can stop them from killing the sister or turning the girlfriend of some other guy!"

"Nobody is going to kill anyone, Matt, there's another way for us to survive."

"Oh yeah, what is that? Someone always dies."

"Blood banks."

"Exactly my point, you're depriving people of fresh blood to keep yourself alive while other people are dying."

"Will you please just shut up for two seconds and listen to yourself?"

"I'm going to find Tyler and we're going to put an end to this," Caroline felt her knees shake at the thought of what was going to happen, but kept her eyes locked with Matt's just so that he wouldn't see how weak she was when it came to Tyler, "And then I'm going to make sure you and your vampire buddies are gone within the next few months."

"Don't do this, Matt."

"You lost the right to talk to me like that when you picked Tyler over me and let him beat me up."

"Matt…"

"I'll be seeing you soon, Caroline," he gave her a soft smile, which made everything that much worse and walked out the room, shutting the door behind him. Caroline inhaled sharply and sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall as she tried to make sense of everything that just happened. Her phone beeped and she reached for it, feeling a tear roll down her cheek as she read Stefan's text: _**Nothing will happen to you or Tyler, I promise.**_

_**xxx**_

it happened again and Tyler had done more than tell her off the second time, but Jules didn't seem to like what he had to say or the way he was treating her. sure, she was helping him figure things out, but that didn't mean that she could take advantage of him. he wasn't that guy and he wasn't going to let Jules believe that because he had let Caroline go, he was hers for the taking. In fact, he wasn't letting Caroline go. Not ever again. His quick phone call with Stefan hadn't been exactly what he thought it would be. Stefan had been soft and to the point, which made Tyler believe that things weren't going to get better from there on in. He didn't want to go back to Mystic Falls and piss everyone off, but from what he understood, he needed to be there. There was the risk of Matt or the Sheriff catching him and putting a silver bullet in his head, but he had to be there. Because they were expecting him. He figured that telling Jules where he was going was a bad idea, but if he didn't tell her then she'd follow him. and in a way, Tyler figured that was a good plan. He'd have back up and whether or not Jules liked Mystic Falls, she would help him. and she was good at what she did, so all that mattered was that she could be there if he needed someone to help him. he packed while she slept, making no noise at all as he moved around the motel room, putting everything he could find into his bag. Whatever he left behind would just stay left behind. He didn't need all his things, he just needed the basics and once he was back in Mystic Falls, he could stay protected behind the walls of the Lockwood house. Sure, all the vampires had been welcome in there before, but that only meant good things, because the vampires could protect them all if Matt and his stupid army decided to come knocking. If they wanted to kill him, they had to work really hard. He wasn't going to make it easy for them and he wasn't going to stand by and watch them destroy Caroline any more than they already had.

"You're not very good at keeping quiet," Tyler rolled his eyes as he pulled on his shoes and glanced over his shoulder at Jules as she sat up, not bothering about covering up, "Where are you going?"

"Away."

"Be more specific."

"Away from here."

"Is that code for _home_, because I'll say it again, it's not safe."

"Nowhere is safe, not when you're a werewolf, so I might as well go to the place I am most comfortable."

"When are you coming back?"

"When Caroline and my mother are safe."

"Tyler," he could hear Jules moving around behind him, but he wasn't going to turn around to look at her again, he didn't want to give her a reason to think he was interested in her in any way, "You can't protect _her_, she has her band of merry bloodsuckers doing that for her."

"You would do anything to protect someone you love, right? I'm doing the exact same thing. The only difference is," he stood up, grabbing the bathrobe and tossing it to her before turning around, "I'm in love with the _enemy_ and I know this and I'm not going to suddenly stop the way I feel."

"What do I need to say or do to make you understand that the two of you can't be together forever?"

"Nothing," Tyler shrugged and grabbed his bag, "You and I cannot be the way you and Mason used to be. I'm not Mason, stop trying to replace him with me. And beyond that, I love Caroline and while you think that it is wrong, you can't stop me."

"What happens if you die?"

"I die, it's that simple."

"You're the Alpha, Tyler, you don't have an heir."

"You be the Alpha if I die."

"There has never been a female Alpha before."

"Start a trend, change history, be the first. Maybe we'll get ourselves a female President too."

"Tyler, this isn't funny."

"Look at me," Tyler raised his eyebrows at her, "Do I look amused? I'm doing this and for once I'm not stopping you. And I'm hoping you won't stop me either. This is something I need to do."

"To protect a vampire."

"To protect Caroline _and_ my mother."

"Mason would be so disappointed in the choices you've made."

"You think you know Mason so well," Tyler scoffed and opened the door of the room and turned to look at her, "You know how he got to Mystic Falls? That vampire, Katherine, compelled him and he was her little bitch. Your precious Mason was sleeping with the enemy too. Maybe," Tyler shrugged and gave her a small smile, "Maybe it's genetic. Wolves who want the bloodsuckers."

"I will find you."

"I'm counting on it."

An hour outside of Mystic Falls, Tyler pulled up into the parking lot of a diner and found Stefan Salvatore sitting on the hood of his car, sipping on what would have looked like a glass of cranberry juice to most people. This whole ordeal left a bad taste in Tyler's mouth, but if Caroline was in trouble, he needed to be there for her. and if they wanted him, Tyler would give them just that. Walking over to Stefan, Tyler adjusted his sunglasses and took a deep breath. The vampire didn't move an inch as he sipped on his _drink_ and Tyler leaned against the car and waited. "You're alone."

"Jules isn't far behind, she didn't want me to know she was tailing me."

"Are you sure she's going to show up?"

"Possibly," Tyler glanced at Stefan and shrugged, "I said some things that might not have gone over so well with her."

"As long as she comes."

"She doesn't want to be the Alpha, so she'll show."

"You're the Alpha?" Tyler looked back at Stefan and pursed his lips, almost unsure of how much information he was allowed to share, "Don't worry, I have no issues with you. You did show up to protect Caroline, that counts for something in my books."

"What is happening?"

"Matt, Sheriff Forbes and the rest of the police force and a few other people are looking for you. You're the key to get to us."

"They know about _you_?"

"Yeah," Stefan sighed and slid off the hood, leaving Tyler standing there looking a little dumbfounded, "The Sheriff is smart with her vervain and she caught Damon in the act, so now we're pretty much screwed. But something tells me she hasn't shared that bit of information with the rest of her army."

"So they believe that by killing me they'll get their hands on you. Because I'm Caroline's weakness?"

"And she is yours," Stefan grabbed another bottle of _juice_ for himself and Tyler chewed on his lip as he stared out at the open road, "They can hurt either one and the other will stop at nothing to stop it."

"What about you and Elena?"

"That's definitely a problem too," Stefan shrugged and took a deep breath, "But Matt really wants _you_ dead, so they're targeting you first."

"Is this about Vicki?"

"Partly and partly because you took Caroline away from him."

"I didn't even have anything to do with Vicki's death."

"That doesn't stop him from thinking that being with you led her to her death."

"I'm basically bait."

"I'm not really sure what you are, I can tell you that I don't have a plan yet. But we need to get you into Mystic Falls first."

"Great, I'm going to be spending all my time in a house full of vampires while the rest of the town is out looking to kill me," Tyler sighed dramatically and looked at Stefan, "I think everyone should be jealous of my life."

"Come on, let's get you home."

_**xxx**_

Caroline leaped off the couch as the door swung open and when she saw Tyler's face, she practically launched herself at him. it had been a miracle getting her out of the Forbes house, but Damon, Elena, Bonnie and Jeremy had managed and for the first time since she got back, she felt like herself again. She clung to Tyler, afraid that if she let go it would prove to be some kind of dream or something. She didn't want that. She wanted him to _really_ be there. "Care…"

"Not yet."

"Babe, I can't breathe."

"Two minutes."

"Caroline, he's turning blue," she quickly released him and fell back on her feet as she cupped his face and bit down on her lip, "Hi."

"Please don't cry, Care."

"You're here."

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."

"I can look after myself!"

"Yeah, but I feel better if I can do it too."

"I know," Caroline brushed her thumb over his cheek as she dropped her voice to a whisper, "I love you."

"_I love you_," Tyler smiled as he leaned in to kiss her, wrapping his free arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

"I don't mean to interrupt this romantic reunion, but we have an army of pissed of humans coming here to find Tyler, so we need to get moving on a plan."

"We should get Caroline to a sa-" Stefan paused as he glanced at Damon and Caroline frowned, still clinging onto Tyler for dear life, "Elena, get Caroline downstairs."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Caroline, you need to protect Elena and Bonnie, we'll handle it upstairs," growling under her breath as her best friends pried her off Tyler, Caroline started for the cellar when the front door flew open and Alaric stumbled in, bloodied and beaten. The three of them stopped and Caroline watched as Tyler moved backwards into the house, letting Stefan and Damon drag Alaric to the living room. She caught Tyler's eye and he shook his head as he dropped his bag and peeled off his jacket. She gripped Elena's hand tighter, afraid to breath and just as she took a small step towards the front door, she heard the last voice she wanted to hear, "Caroline, honey, are you here?"


End file.
